The situation of being part of an occupying army, hated and fought by
a population ready to die to win back its independence, frequently
killing helpless civilians and seeing one's buddies do so, confronts a
person with a moral conundrum: to continue on their path and survive
means becoming a monster. The moral justifications that help soldiers
fighting a justified and legitimate war to remain ethical beings are
not available.

The only clear solution to the conundrum is to desert. For those that
went in thinking they were going to "serve their country", this
requires recognizing that everything they had been told was a lie, and
what they serve has become evil. Doing it would mean cutting
themselves off from everything and everyone they have ever known,
including their buddies and their family. Few people have the moral
courage for that; it is much easier to tell oneself there remains some
doubt, not to do anything drastic, to "keep on keepin' on".

But those who don't solve the conundrum are compelled to suffer its
effects. Either they deny the facts of what they have done, which
means reinforcing the lie to a point where it becomes insanity, or
they hate themselves for it. Either way, they end up more or less
crazy. They have serious mental problems, and may end up homeless.

I feel sorry for every one of them, but they are suffering this wrong
as a consequence of commiting a much greater one, and we must not
disregard the latter for the former. The sooner the Bush forces are
defeated and out of Iraq, the fewer Iraqis, and the fewer Americans,
will have their lives ruined by this inexcusable war of aggression.